CBP seizes $351k of 道具专用 money from China.

Seized 道具专用 money from China., source: CBP.gov

I previously posted on this blog back on May 23rd about seizure of $252k in cash that was marked in red Chinese letters with the words道具专用. Which is loosely translated as “for prop use only”. Earlier this week, CBP seized an additional $351,000 in prop currency from a shipment from Shanghai, China and headed to a residence in Milwaukee.

Upon further examination, Customs seized the counterfeit currency, noting the bills all were marked with the same serial number, lack of red and blue fibers and missing the embeded watermark. Customs also noted on the back were Chinese letters on back of bills in red.

CBP only posted the image above so I do not know for sure what Chinese characters were on the back, but the words were probably the standard 道具专用, meaning “for prop use only”. While labeled for prop use only (such as in movies), CBP considers these “foreign currency notes” as counterfeit and will destroy them. One such reason is because the prop money has been successful used in all major cities at multiple retailers.

If you have had your goods seized by Customs, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Hong Kong could lose special status and trade benefits.

Last year, the US passed a law that requires Hong Kong to retain independence to qualify for the continued favorable trading terms with the US. I mentioned this in my blog post on June 15th, 2019 here.

The bill requires the US Secretary of State to certify each year that Hong Kong remains autonomous from China. If Hong Kong does not pass the certification of independence from China, then Hong Kong would lose trade privileges with the US (goods from Hong Kong will now be subject to duties on goods from China).

Fast forward almost a year later – where in late May China’s central government passed a national security law to apply to Hong Kong (as Hong Kong has not been able to pass such a law since they were handed back to China in 1997). The new security law would ban secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, foreign intervention and allows mainland China’s state security agencies to operate in the city.

After passage of the security law, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress that Hong Kong was no longer independent from China – signaling a potential move towards Hong Kong not passing certification.

If Hong Kong loses it’s special status a big impact would be on tariffs on goods from Hong Kong would now apply. This would impact over $66 billion in trade according to 2018 trade numbers. In 2018, Hong Kong was America’s third-largest market for wine, 4th largest for been and seventh largest for agricultural products.

If you have any questions how your imports or exports to and from Hong Kong may be impacted, contact David Hsu 24/7 by phone/text to 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Customs seizes Chinese medication for treatment of COVID-19.

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Image of seized pills, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the O’Hare International Airport international mail facility seized medication from China. The medication made claims it could treat COVID-19, violating FDA laws and therefore seized by CBP. CBP seized a total of 9,600 capsules of “Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang”. According to various sources online, Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang is a combination of dozens of herbs in capsule form. According to CBP, the shipment contained an estimated value of $28,797.

If you have had your good seized by Customs, contact customs seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

China announces 80% tariffs on Australian barley – the new trade war?

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Photo by Samuel Silitonga on Pexels.com

That escalated quickly! In addition to banning imports of Australian beef, the Chinese government announced on Monday, May 18th, 2020 an 80% tariff on Australian barley exports starting today.

The tariffs are likely in response to Australia’s government demanding an inquiry into the cause of the corona virus. The Chinese President Xi Jinping has claimed China acted “with openness and transparency” in their handling of the outbreak.

Also on Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) also agreed to launch an independent probe into how they handled the international response to the corona virus. The countries requesting the investigation included African, European and other countries and is looking for a review of the WHO’s response to the corona virus outbreak.

In response to the new tariffs, Australia’s Minister for Trade Simon Birmingham on Monday night denied Australia had subsidized or dumped barley in China. Will be following this news carefully as China accounts for 33% of Australia’s total exports at $135 billion in 2019.

China blocks imports of Australian beef in response to Australian inquiry to the origin of the corona virus.

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Photo by Catarina Sousa on Pexels.com

According to theweek.in, an India news publication – Beijing is blocking imports of Australian beef after the Australian goverment asked for an inquiry into the source of the origin of the corona virus. However, China’s foreign ministry claims the suspension of beef imports is to protect Chinese consumers after violations of inspection and quarantine requirements by Australian companies.

The article highlights other instances of Beijing restricting imports:
1. China blocks imports of Norwegian salmon after a human rights prisoner was awarded the nobel prize
2. China blocks imports of canola from Canada to pressure Canada to release Huawei executive
3. China blocks imports of Philippine bananas in response to dispute over territory in the South China Sea

However, the article notes this is the first time Beijing has used banning imports in response to criticism over the corona virus. In response to the ban on Australian beef, the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia draws clear lines on certain issues And those things are not to be traded.

This isn’t the first time China has blocked imports of Australian goods – in 2019, China suspended imports of Australian coal in response to Australia’s government recision of a visa for a Chinese businessman.

Will be interested to see what happens to the status of Australian beef imports to China.

Counterfeit Super Bowl rings seized.

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Image of seized rings, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at O’Hare’s International Mail Facility seized a package of 35 counterfeit NFL Championship rings from China. The April shipment was held for further inspection due to x-ray images showing inconsistencies. The shipment was declared as ring and valued at $10 each. However, upon opening the packages, CBP officers found 35 counterfeit NFL Championship rings. CBP determined the rings to be counterfeit due to poor quality, poor packaging and low value. The approximate MSRP of the rings, if real, would have been $350,000.

According to the Customs media release:

The parcel contained fake Superbowl rings for the NY Jets (1) and Giants (4), Pittsburgh Steelers (6), San Francisco 49ers (5), Dallas Cowboys (5), Washington Redskins (5), Green Bay Packers (6) and Denver Broncos (3).

If you have had your shipment seized for IPR violations, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

US Senator introduces resolution to withdraw US from the WTO.

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Photo by kendall hoopes on Pexels.com

This past Thursday, US Senator Josh Hawley introduced a joint resolution to withdraw the US from the World Trade Organization.

The World Trade Organization was established in 1994 and under the agreement establishing the WTO – Congress receives a report every 5 years on the effects of the WTO on the US economy and enables a vehicle for Congress to revoke the US’ participation in the WTO.

In the joint resolution by Senator Hawley, Hawley writes the coronavirus pandemic has shown China’s use of the WTO to benefit themselves and other elites around the world at the expense of the US.

The full text of the resolution is available here.

Elizabeth, New Jersey’s use of Chinese-made DJI drone restarts national security debate of Chinese made equipment.

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Photo by Mudassir Ali on Pexels.com

The city of Elizabeth, New Jersey is deploying DJI amanufactured drones to enforce social distancing guidelines. Specifically, the drones will be deployed to warn Elizabeth citizens who are found to be outdoors and issue verbal warnings such as “Stop gathering, disperse and go home”.

I previously mentioned in this blog about prior US governmental use and the contents of an memo that claimed DJI’s commercial drones are giving sensitive US “infrastucture and law enforcement data to the Chinese government.” In fact, the U.S. Army has banned the use of all DJI drines since 2017.

In response, DJI claims full control of their drones belong to their owners and that no information is transmitted back to China. Since the outbreak of the corona virus, DJI has donated to 43 agencies across 22 states to enforce social distancing.

USDA allows citrus imports from China as part of Phase One trade deal.

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Photo by Lena Khrupina on Pexels.com

As part of the “Phase One” trade deal between the US and China, market access for Chinese citrus products was one requirement. However, US citrus growers, specifically those in Florida’s citrus industry sent a letter opposing the import of Chinese citrus. The main reasons for opposing citrus from China was the risk of invasive pests and diseases, specifically the fruit fly pest that may damage Florida citrus products and potentially damage other crops such as avocados, blueberries, peaches, peppers, persimmons and tomatoes.

In addition to natural risks, critics also cite the economic disadvantage of foreign competition during the COVID-19 crisis. The letter to the USDA also cited a topic covered previously on our blog – the dumping allegations of Mexican tomato growers. Florida tomato growers are already impacted by the competition of Mexican tomatoes, and the last thing tomato growers need to worry about is the risk of invasive pests from potential imports of Chinese citrus products.

Other opponents to the Phase One trade deal allowing access to Chinese citrus producers include Florida Farm Bureau Federation, Florida Department of Agricultre and Consumer Services and the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association.

While there is strong opposition to these imports, the opposition will likely not be enough to change Phase One of the trade deal.

If you will be importing citrus fruits – be sure you are in compliance, give David Hsu a  call/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Potential changes to the Foreign Direct Product Rule may hinder Huawei supply chain.

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The Trump administration has agreed to changes to the Foreign Direct Product Rule, which subjects some foreign-made goods based on U.S. technology or software to comply with U.S. regulations.  The proposed rule change requires foreign companies that use U.S. chip making equipment to obtain a license before they can supply certain semiconductor chips to Huawei.

The proposed rule change is to limit the number of foreign suppliers who continue to supply chips to Huawei. The new rule will greatly impact Huawei as most chip manufacturers use equipment produc Multiple articles on this subject cite the Taiwan-based “Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company” (TSMC). TSMC is Taiwan’s largest semiconductor manufacturer with over 15 fabs located throughout Taiwan.

If you have any questions whether you are subject to export controls or if you want to know how you are impacted, contact experienced export controls attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.